Food Drive Feeds Hundreds; Christmas Drive is On!

One of the charities that I support, among others listed on my website http://www.roccobasile.net/, is - Children of the City - who rounded up 100 volunteers from all over New York to give away Thanksgiving meals to needy families this last November. Over 700 adults and children, about 119 families in all, got a 25-lb box of food to feed a family of six. They either received a turkey or ham.

America's Second Harvest stated that, "one in five people standing in line at a soup kitchen this Thanksgiving was a child." And it is sad to say that one in four children in New York City live in poverty. More than 16,000 homeless children sleep in the New York City shelter system each night.

My family and I helped again this year, and as always, it's truly rewarding.

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Christmas without a gift is the reality for many of these children living in poverty. I would like to encourage you to put a smile on a child's face this year via a tax-deductible gift to the Children of the City's 2008 Christmas Project. This year we are partnering with New York Cares and St. John's Bread and Life. Since 1981, thousands of children have received a Christmas present thanks to these folks who know the true meaning of Christmas is giving ...

To donate simply click this link. Happy holidays! -- Rocco Basile

New Education Secretary Arne Duncan Announced

President Elect Barack Obama just named his Education Secretary -- longtime friend and fellow Harvard alum Arne Duncan, who headed the Chicago public school system. He has a reputation as an educational reformer, and will be very strong for our country as part of the strengthening of student math and reading skills as an educational trend in the New Year, a topic I cover on my website http://www.roccobasile.net/.

Duncan was responsible for closing then reopening and improving a once failing school known as the Dodge Renaissance Academy on the West side of Chicago. Now 79.4 percent of their students meet or exceed state goals; in reading, 69.7 percent of the students meet or exceed the goals.

Focus to attention is what most students need to improve their skills in reading and math. We know this from the work being done at Childrenofthecity.org, in Brooklyn, New York. This charity recently rallied together over 100 volunteers to distribute free Thanksgiving meals to needy families at their facility on Sunday November 23, 2008, feeding over 700 adults and children. 119 families in all came to Children of the City and received a Thanksgiving meal which included a 25-lb box of food to feed a family of 6 and either a ham or turkey.


“One in five people standing in line at a soup kitchen this Thanksgiving was a child. 1 in 4 children right here in New York City live in poverty” said the organization's Joyce Mattera, Executive Director and Founder.

--Rocco Basile

The Cost of Education Today

Today's New York Times had a Letter to the Editor response to a prior article by writer Tamir Lewin that was published on December 3, 2008 focusing on how College May Become Unaffordable for Most in U.S. based on the biennial report from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. Eric J. Furda, the dean of admissions at the University of Pennsylvania wrote that there are some institutions like his that do offer aid to students. There, undergraduate students who are eligible for financial aid are offered no-loan packages, regardless of family income.

He went on to say what this means is that students from typical families with incomes that are less than $40,000 per year will pay no tuition, nor room or board. Penn accepts students based solely on academic and other strengths, not on families’ ability to pay. And despite the current economic crisis, they remain steadfast in this commitment to educate the best and brightest young people, regardless of economic background.

Here's my favorite part of his comments... Penn’s founder Benjamin Franklin once said, an investment in education pays the greatest interest.

As I continue the work I do for my two charities, including Children of the City and the Joe Dimaggio Award Committee, for my Alma Mater, Xaverian High school (left photo), it is rewarding to know that the youth participating in these programs will have a chance to attend college and universities, because of the care we are putting into helping them now. My website, http://www.roccobasile.net/ features many of the exciting programs that are in progress.

But it is pretty sad to read the some of the statistics in the report. College tuition and fees increased 439 percent from 1982 to 2007 while median family income rose 147 percent. Student borrowing has more than doubled in the last ten years, while students from lower-income families, on average, get smaller grants from the colleges they attend than students from more affluent families.

-- Rocco Basile

Final Stages of No Child Left Behind

On November 13, officials discussed the final Title I regulations to strengthen No Child Left Behind (NCLB) ED during a national teleconference. Back on October 28 U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings had announced the final regulations to strengthen and clarify NCLB, focusing on improved accountability and transparency, uniform and disaggregated graduation rates and improved parental notification for Supplemental Education Services and public school choice.

As I follow educational trends and often post interesting facts on my website http://www.rocccobasile.net/. I thought perhaps this slide show from the teleconference call would be of great interest to those who did not yet read it.

Click here to see the PowerPoint presentation of slides. This discussion was led by ED officials who were involved in developing the regulations and who are helping states, districts, and schools implement them. The focus was on regulations related to high school graduation rate, supplemental educational services, and public school choice.

Basically, the reforms introduced into the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) by the NCLB have changed the way that states and districts approach educating all students to achieve high standards.

Now, the final regulations respond to the lessons learned from six years of implementing the reforms, and build on the advances states have made with their assessment and accountability systems. --Rocco Basile